Secret Keeper
by 24starsofthesea
Summary: Strangely enough, a single thought can change so many lives. Mild tissue warning.


**HELLO, you lovelies! Dedication yet again to the fabulous Rashishi for giving me such honest reviews.**

 **Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling. *proceeds to cry in a corner*  
**

 ** _Peter Pettigrew should be the Secret Keeper.  
_**  
Sirius Black was not a daft man.

He knew that the Death Eaters would come after him.

He knew that they would suspect that he would be the Secret Keeper.

He knew that if they were to gain the upper hand in this war, he would have to outsmart the enemy, be one step ahead of them.

He knew that the Potter's had to choose a different Secret Keeper.

Sirius himself was too obvious, too well known.

But whom to choose?

He didn't trust Remus. Perhaps the stress of the war had finally got to him, or perhaps he just needed someone to blame, but Sirius just plain didn't trust Remus as much as before.

His only choice, the only person he could truly trust, was Peter, so he mulled over the idea.

He knew that Peter was the least suspect out of all of them to be secret keeper. Peter was the ideal choice: easily hidden and least likely to be found and questioned by Death Eaters.

Sirius knew that he had to save James and Lily and their little baby.

And while he himself would give his life to save his friend, choosing Peter sounded like just the ticket.

 _And so this one thought was born.  
_

 _ **Peter Pettigrew should be the Secret Keeper.  
**_  
James Potter was no master tactician, but Sirius' plan sounded pretty good.

Sirius made a few convincing points, and, as his best friend, James was inclined to believe him. He ran Sirius' idea past Lily and she supported it too.

Peter Pettigrew was to be their Secret Keeper.

It wasn't as though he didn't trust Peter. He was a Gryffindor, loyal and brave.

And besides, all that really mattered was that Lily and Harry were safe.

 _And so this one thought was put into action.  
_

 _ **Peter Pettigrew should be the Secret Keeper.  
**_  
Peter Pettigrew couldn't believe his luck.

After some time of being treated as the lowest ranking Death Eater, he had a chance to redeem himself in the Dark Lord's eyes.

At first Peter thought it would be easy to gain the Dark Lord's respect. He was a spy in the Order of the Phoenix! He could easily give him any information that Peter could get. But this still didn't impress the Dark Lord enough to give him a higher status.

So Peter began making a new plan. In order to stay in the Dark Lord's favor, he would have to make himself special, stick out in some way.

One night, he thought of a genius plan: betray the Potters.

Except there was one flaw.

The Potter's were using the Fidelius Charm. There was no doubt in his mind that James and Lily would choose Sirius as their secret keeper, and Peter would be forever thought of as useless scum by the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters.

Until everything fell into place.

The Potter's chose him to be their secret keeper, claiming that Peter would be less likely to be found by Death Eaters. (Ha!)

And while he regretted the fact that this decision would mean the death of his friends, it would all be worth it.

He would be Secret Keeper.

He would betray the Potter family.

He would be respected and loved by all.

He would be powerful and strong.

He would not die.

It was quite a simple plan, really.

 _And so this one thought was used to betray.  
_

 _ **Peter Pettigrew should be the Secret Keeper.  
**_

Severus Snape was in pure shock.

He ran to her home in Godric's Hollow and cried when he saw her wrecked house, charred and burned and broken down.

He ran inside with a small but burning hope inside: ' _Maybe he spared her, maybe she's alive_.'

He saw the body of James Potter lying dead in the front hall.

He ran up the stairs at the sound of a wailing child, hoping, praying, pleading that she was alive.

And then he saw her.

Lily Evans Potter, her glassy eyes still that vibrant shade of green, her hair still that bright red, her face still twisted in an expression of fear and determination.

And Severus broke. His heart shattered. His brain refused to function. His body unconsciously fell to the ground and held her lifeless corpse as he sobbed.

His cries were met by wails from the crib beside him. In it was her son, fat tears squeezing their way out of eyes _the same bright green as hers_. Severus couldn't stop staring at his eyes, so alive and vibrant. Like her's should be.

 _Like her's should be.  
_  
Severus cried until he could not cry anymore.

 _And so this one thought caused its first losses._ _  
_

 ** _Peter Pettigrew should be the Secret Keeper.  
_**  
Remus Lupin was always alone as a child.

As a child infected with lycanthropy, Remus had no friends. Afraid that people would judge him for his condition, he grew up a little awkward and a little shy. Books may have been fun to read, but they didn't provide social skills.

It hurt to be shunned by others, more than he'd admit.

But against all odds, he was accepted into Hogwarts.

He was ecstatic. Sure, he may not make any friends, but at least he wouldn't be completely alone anymore.

But Remus did make friends, which was the subject of a very joyful letter sent to his mother and father. They had so many adventures and got so many detentions, it was hard to believe that it would ever end. Remus found acceptance with James, Sirius, and Peter.

But everything has to end at some point. The Marauders graduated and were released into a world of fear.

And now, three years later, Remus was devastated.

Sirius had apparently murdered James and Lily by turning them over to You-Know-Who, which was traumatizing by itself, but then he proceeded to kill Peter on a street packed with muggles, simultaneously killing twelve completely innocent people.

He was supposed to be happy. You-Know-Who was finally defeated, but all Remus could feel was a gnawing emptiness, eating away at his insides.

They were gone.

 _They were gone.  
_  
James and Peter were gone.

And with Sirius going to prison, Remus was alone once again.

It hurts more than it used to, he thought bitterly.

 _And so this one thought caused loneliness and despair._ _  
_

 ** _Peter Pettigrew should be the Secret Keeper.  
_**  
And then there was him, at the center of it all.

The very one this thought was meant to protect.

Harry Potter.

This thought caused the death of his parents.

This thought caused Harry to live his early years with his spiteful aunt and her whale of a husband.

This thought caused Harry to forever wonder what everything would be like if he had a loving mother and father, if the wasn't The Boy Who Lived.

This thought caused so much pain and suffering, so many deaths and so much despair. This thought had good intentions that turned sour because of a rat who wasn't brave enough to save his friends.

But in the end, it was this one thought that made Harry who he was.

 _And so this one thought changed the course of a war.  
_

 **I'm not necessarily saying that "the thought" was a good thing, but that it made Harry the person he was, therefore making him appreciate love, causing him to become the defeater of Voldemort and end the war. Or at least that's my take on it… I really should reread the books. :P**

 **BUT anyways, sorry I've been MIA for so long, I really have no particular excuse *insert disapproving frowny face* but at least I'm not gone for good *smiles hopefully while dodging tomatoes***

 **Alright I got nothing. ROLL THE CREDITS.**

 **Read, review, and thank ya kindly,**

 **~memyselfandbooks24**

 **PS. Thank you so much for reading my barely over a thousand words story. You have no idea how happy it makes me that people read my writing. But I think you know what would make me even happier... *cough* reviews *cough***

 **If you can't think of anything to say (type?), just write "Pink sunglasses, juicy oranges, and polka dot clocks."  
**


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